Manchester home-shopping company N Brown Group has consolidated its position as the UK’s largest online lingerie retailer with the acquisition of Figleaves Global Trading, which trades as Figleaves.com. The business will pay £11.5m for the entire share capital of the lingerie and underwear retailer. Figleaves stocks more than 100 brands and attracts approximately 1.2 million customers each month. It is expected to generate a turnover of £23m for the year to June 2010. Click here for Insider comment.

The NWF Group, the Cheshire-based distributor of food, feed and fuel, has secured a long-term funding agreement with Royal Bank of Scotland, with a total facility of £51m available at similar cost to the previous existing facility. This will be subject to normal banking covenants and runs through until October 2013. Chief executive of NWF Richard Whiting said: “I am particularly pleased that we have successfully agreed a new long term facility with our bank on attractive terms.”

Protomed, the Cheshire-based pharmaceutical design company, has been awarded a £79,000 proof-of-market grant by the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA). The drug packaging business said it would use the money to carry out market research into developments in telehealth and medication management for the healthcare sector. Chief executive of Protomed Norman Niven said: “Grants from bodies such as the NWDA are vital for young and innovative companies like us, as we explore new avenues that could transform the future of healthcare.”

Pilkington’s Group, a manufacturer and distributor of wall and floor tiles, has gone into administration after suffering “intense cash flow pressures” as a result of recent adverse trading conditions. Paul Flint and Brian Green from KPMG Restructuring were appointed joint administrators of the Swinton-headquartered company yesterday. Flint said the business would continue to trade while a purchaser is sought. The group employs 380 staff and its subsidiaries include Pilkington’s Tiles and Quiligotti Access Flooring. There have been no immediate redundancies.

Byotrol, the manufacturer of antibacterial chemicals used to prevent superbugs, has narrowed losses following a “significant” year in which turnover tripled. The Manchester company reported sales of £3.15m in the year to 31 March, up from £929,800 a year earlier. Pre-tax losses were cut from £2.98m to £1.83m. During the year the AIM-listed business bought the assets of pet grooming and hygiene products supplier ByoFresh and secured a contract from Boots for the high street retailer’s own brand anti viral hand mousse.

ReThink, the Manchester-based recruitment company, told shareholders at today’s AGM that its net fee income for the first four months of 2010 is more than 15 per cent higher than the comparable period in 2009. This was mostly made up of more people looking for long-term staff members, with a 44 per cent increase for the division providing permanent posts. The company also expects pre-tax profits for the six months to 30 June 2010 to be ahead of the same period last year.

The Budget’s deficit reduction policies should go easy on small businesses, the Forum of Private Business said in response to long-term projections of slow growth. The call came after the coalition government’s Office for Budget Responsibility downgraded the UK’s economic growth forecast from 3.25 per cent to just 2.6. The Forum’s head of policy Matt Goodman said: “While addressing the gaping public deficit must be the first priority to stabilise the economy, this must be balanced with continued support for the drivers of growth – small businesses.”

Manchester design agency Glorious Creative has been appointed to launch a new campaign for batteries maker Exide UK. The campaign is aimed at capturing a larger share of the £160m waste battery market. Exide’s marketing manager Craig Everett said he hoped the drive would help to change behavioural habits so that more lead-acid batteries end up being recycled.

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Environments for Learning, a consortium led by building and maintenance group Interserve, has been named preferred bidder for the £150m St Helens Council Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme. Interserve will construct two schools costing £47m and provide facilities management services worth £8m. Six further schools, worth more than £100m, have been identified for subsequent development. Three of the schools will be financed using the private finance initiative. Financial close on the contract is expected in autumn this year, allowing construction to begin immediately.

The Manchester office of real estate adviser DTZ has concluded three acquisitions in Greater Manchester and Lancashire totalling more than 29,100 sq ft. Manchester and District Housing purchased 7,516 sq ft at Tustin Court in Preston at a rental of about £10 per sq ft for a ten-year lease; Wigan and Leigh College bought 6,637 sq ft at Leigh Sports Village for about £11 per sq ft for a ten-year lease; and Mott MacDonald acquired 14,947 sq ft at Springbank House.